Apprenticeship Test: The Hunt
At breakfast The Master of the Hunt and the Mistress of Hawks asked all potential apprentices to help them with the hunt. The Mistress of Hawks also asked people to keep an eye out for a missing hawk, which had been lost yesterday. Aaron and Daisy were given small tasks to do by Mistress Twonky. At midday, Aaron had to collect pure water from a stream and Daisy had to cut oak leaves from the top of a tree. Gareth was asked to accompany the Weapon Smith for the day, and give him all the assistance that he can. Aaron and Nicole made plans to disappear for the day. Not being used to heavy mead, Wiggan slept in, and after being berated for arriving to breakfast last, he started running to catch up to the the others. The hunt procession After breakfast, the hunters saddled up in the courtyard. All were dressed in their finest outfits and many carried hawks. They led a procession down the mountainside, across the lake and out into the forest. As soon as the last of them had left, Wiggan sprinted down to the barge landing to help them move their horses onto the barges. One feisty stallion decided he wouldn't cooperate unless he was given the apple Wiggan had put aside for breakfast. Wiggan missed out. Once across the lake, Aaron and Nicole conveniently got lost. Hawking and lunch In the morning, Blood Hawks were released and some came home with prey. Nobody fell off the cliff. At midday, lunch was served under a huge old oak tree. Mistress Twonky needed all the help she could get, setting up and serving food. Unfortunately, Aaron was nowhere to be found and Daisy was up a tree (quite a surprise for the people eating below her when she came down). Luckily, Wiggan and some others were there to help. Gareth was asked to lunch by the Weapon Smith and they had an interesting conversation about what might be possible in the future. Gareth had a premonition of a dragon attacking Castle Fang. That seemed surprising, as everyone knows that the magic of the castle means that no dragon can attack it. Wiggan also had an interesting conversation. After grabbing everyone's attention by making a heroic dash to the forest for berries, he got to talk to the Castellan, Gwynelle's father. The Castellan didn't seem as impressed as everyone else, but Gwynelle's shy smile made it all worthwhile. After lunch, Wiggan and Gareth were asked by the Master of the Stables and the Master Smith to work together to shoe a horse. They only had a traveling anvil and some rudimentary gear, but they did a very competent job together. Beating the hunt After lunch, all the potential apprentices (and some others), were press-ganged into beating the bushes to scare out game for the hunt. That worked well until Wiggan, playing his ocarina, startled a buck. For a second they stared one another down, then Wiggan charged at the buck, screaming and waving his spear. A great fight ensued, with apprentices waving spears at the buck and the buck charging and kicking at the apprentices. After Wiggan and the buck had both been wounded, they called it a day and the buck retired, hurt. That wasn't the only great game that they encountered. They also surprised Aaron and Nicole dallying by a stream. Nicole took off and would have run into the hunters if Aaron hadn't caught her and reassured her. They disappeared discretely, in a similar direction to the buck. They informed the Hunt Master of the wounded buck. He took some good men and went after it. As he left, he asked everyone to keep an eye out for Rip Claw, one of his dogs that had gone missing. Battle of the Three Beasts Gareth, Daisy and Wiggan cut through the forest to pick up the anvil and head for home. On the way, they came across the Battle of Three Beasts. Rip Claw had found the buck and had it at bay. Both beasts were wounded and the missing Blood Hawk was taking advantage of the chaos to harry both of them. In an attempt to recapture the hawk, the apprentices joined the fray. Wiggan killed the buck with a mighty spear thrust while Daisy and Gareth smothered the hawk with various jackets and scarves. Both the hawk and the dog were wounded, with Rip Claw having lost an eye to the hawk. The Master of the Hunt was going to put it down until Wiggan took the poor dog for his own. Homeward bound After picking up the anvil and gear, they headed for home. Wiggan decided not to play his ocarina, as it seemed to irritate the animals. Daisy sprinted all the way to beat the sun and deliver her oak leaves on time. At the kitchen, she met up with Aaron and they were instructed to take the water and leaves to the top of the tower and leave them there. Although Daisy lingered as long as she could, no-one appeared to pick them up. At dinner, Wiggan met Gwynelle's father again. He was surprisingly friendly, to the point that he suggested Wiggan talk to him on the morrow about an apprenticeship. Perhaps Wiggan's cheeky charm won him over. Aaron had an interesting conversation with Nicole's father, the Master of Arms. He was angry that his daughter had been embarrassed and could have been endangered. He gave Aaron two blows, at which point Aaron made it clear that he would not break off with Nicole. He went to find Nicole and make sure that she was alright, but the other servants in the castle frustrated his best efforts. And so, to bed. Category:Session records